Captain Yanakov wanted to retain limited space capability for his people, but the First Elders destroyed all space technology.

In 998 PD, after the death of Austin Grayson, Yanakov and fellow settler Oliver Mayhew informed the rest of the settlers that technology and machines were not evil in themselves, but that the way that they were used on Earth was. They did so because the planet had a high concentration of heavy metals which made the flora and fauna deadly to humans and technology was needed for the colonists to survive.

After the Protectorate of Grayson way turned into a theocratic monarchy with Oliver Mayhew as its first Protector, Yanakov became the first Steadholder Yanakov. He chose a site for his house near snow-capped mountains. His descendants would still be living on the site nine hundred years later. (HH2, HH5)